I quite enjoyed it tonight. I expected the worst with the team we were going with, our obvious lack of depth, probably scarred from years past where the League Cup hasn't been a happy place for us. I thought the team played some really good stuff at times and outclassed Bradford pretty much from start to finish. My only criticism would be failing to get the third and finish the game off and I was worried we would pay for that with them converting a late free kick or corner. Fortunately not. Good to progress and good to see the younger lads getting the job done. Thought Morton's quality was clear even at CB which sums up where we are at as a club when we can't even find our own CB from our U23s to play so have to chuck in a midfielder on loan to play there. Get it sorted and quick.

Due to negligence on recruitment and contracts we seem to always reach this stage in the League Cup. What should be an opportunity for us to progress in the competition against a 4th division side is now seen as an unwanted distraction and a risk owing to our threadbare squad. I will be going over expecting us to struggle as we field a team of kids. Maybe one day we will be able to actually go for it in the cup, but think we need rid of these diabolical owners and friends for that to happen. Until then we will face the same situation every August - not enough players as we've let a load go and haven't sorted our recruitment out. And before anyone says 'that's just the way it is in the Championship' - no it isn't - a glance at the other sides tonight will show that.

Won't, not can't

We aren't paying Lucas Joao's wages. End of story.

And at what point will you judge the window to have been a poor one? Because I know full well that when we fall short of making the number of signings required or of the calibre required, or when we fall short of this '£10 million' budget you're now repeating as though it is fact, you'll be on saying that we shouldn't judge after 1 window, about how this is a multi-year process, about how we couldn't spend money because of x,y,z, about how we haven't had enough time, or how the Diaz situation is causing problems, and so on and so forth. You'll just move the goalposts again.

Allegedly. Please remove.

That's the problem. I don't. Some money spent yes but there aren't many clubs in the world of professional football that don't at least spend something. It is quite obvious the budget is unsuitable for the numbers and standard we need.

Some of us knew there was no money from the start. It was staring at us in the face. Broughton got his job convincing the shadow man that he could deliver better value in the market through his academy connections. Still run by the same people though. I mean look at these two on Saturday. Running Blackburn Rovers, heaven help us.

That's not how it works though. Whilst their contributions last season may have been minimal they were still for the most part experienced players who could fill up the bench and be called upon if we got really short or ran out of options. Now we don't have that. We have a decent XI when all fit and nothing else. Our problem now is 1-2 injuries or suspensions and we are knackered - knackered in that we literally have no alternatives - as the side at Bradford tomorrow will highlight in defence. Last year we could have called upon alternatives, now we cannot. Markinday is a complete unknown for us and from what I've seen to date could quite easily end up in a similar category to Davenport and Chapman. The squad is a lot weaker now than it was last season. We're 9 down on numbers so need a minimum of 4 - and 4 good ones - to fill that void.

JP Van Hecke Ryan Nyambe Darragh Lenihan Ryan Giles Zeefuik Jacob Davenport Brad Johnson Joe Rothwell Reda Khadra Ian Poveda Harry Chapman Tyler Magloire James Brown

Probably and whilst it probably wouldn't do us much good I wouldn't blame him. I've concluded that we are now back at the Berg, Appleton, Lambert and Coyle phase. All those experiments turned rapidly into fiascos for various reasons but all ultimately originated from the fact that they didn't have the owners behind them from the start and didn't get backed - whether that be time, money, communication - it wasn't forthcoming from India. Never underestimate, IMO, the importance of flying to India. Kean knew it, Bowyer knew it, Mowbray knew it. They didn't fly to the back of beyond every summer because they fancied a holiday. They went because they knew it was the only way of getting proper backing and answers from the people that matter. I think we are back to that point. Tomasson and Broughton will be left on a limb to do what they can with no money but unless the main owners are behind this and are financing it then it will end in tears. Tomasson now has about 6 rungs on the ladder between him and the people in ultimate control. There's lots of talk about Brereton at the moment - the only reason Mowbray got those funds was because he went off to India that summer and persuaded them to have a go. Without that visit the money is going into running costs and we are loaning his replacement. Seen it so many times before. Don't blame Tomasson in the slightest - an unemployed manager gets an opportunity to take over Blackburn Rovers. Championship club fighting for promotion last year, nice part of the world, good league to be involved in, good academy, profile, chance to reach the PL. It proves people will want to manage this great club. Lots of people in the national press and rival clubs bang on about how wonderful things are at Rovers and how Venkys have turned it around - obviously they are looking from the outside in. Not until you get on the inside do you realise what a shambles it is.

Conspiracy theory time. Anyone reckon Dack's card is marked because they want his wages off the books? He must be top earner with Ayala by some distance. They can't get rid of Ayala and he's out of contract soon anyway so not too much to worry about there. Can't imagine, given the drive to cut wages, that Dack's are sitting particularly well with those running the show.

Giles was just an option that came up on terms Rovers liked - loan, cheap, easy deal to do. Mowbray clearly had no plan or idea what to do with him which left the whole thing a waste of everyone's time. That's how transfer windows roll at Rovers - see who comes up in the last few days of the window on favourable financial terms as selling or loaning clubs reduce their demands. There's no plan it is just fill the squad up with the easiest and cheapest options, or nobody if the wind doesn't blow in our favour. That's what Broughton will be doing now and learning how hard it is when you've got your hands tied behind your back.

#wevedoneallwecan

Think there is more chance of me playing for Rovers this season than us going into the market and signing another LB who is going to play ahead of Pickering and Edun. The Club has recently paid fees for both of them two, that investment won't be dislodged.

Sunderland offer to play Brighton a larger portion of his weekly wages to play regularly in the Championship. We aren't offering as much or are dilly dallying hoping that Brighton reduce their wage demands at the 11th hour out of desperation. I think it is as simple as that and whilst the people running Rovers think it is clever or impressive as it saves a few quid it leaves us in a mess in the last few days of the window,

The good thing about 'projects' is that they postpone any analysis of performance or results. Like so many other things it can be dressed up as a multi-year process, the end of which never arrives. A shite transfer window, or poor results, can just be brushed off with "oh well, this is a long term job so don't expect more at this early stage" As above it keeps the gravy train going and kicks the can down the road to a later date. Very convenient.

I'll be filing that in the same folder as his girlfriend won't move to Blackburn or he wants to go to Sunderland because they have a regular ferry service to Holland so he can pop back when he wants.

We are an established Championship club, that narrowly missed the playoffs last season. Sunderland are fresh out of a 4 year spell in League One. Added to that Van Hecke was here last season, loved it, loved by the fans and popular with the players. Add to that we have needed a new CB for months and that need has become chronic in the last 2 weeks with injuries to Wharton and Carter. If he goes to Sunderland it is because they are paying more. Nothing more to it than that. Cheers Venkys

At the end of the day Broughton will have secured the job here on what he can deliver for the owners, or perhaps more importantly, their friend in the shadows. He will not have got the job here on the basis he is going to go out into the transfer market, spend £10 million, increase the wage bill and bring in a load of ready made proven players. He will have got the job here on the basis he is going to smooth the 'pathways' for the academy players into the first team, bring in a head coach more willing than Mowbray to play the game and hand over responsibility for spending money to others, cut costs and wages and increase value in low cost investments. Everything that has happened at this club since 2020 points towards a reduction in costs and investment, so expecting millions to be spent in the next 10 days is foolish, imo. Waggott got the job not because he was going to grow or improve the club or deliver a long term strategy. He got the job because they needed a figurehead/fall guy and because he promised to save them money. Broughton got the job because he convinced them that he would deliver more for their money on players and get more academy products through the system. The club suffers through all of this.

It COULD work. But for it to do so you have to retain those players who go on to develop. You have to be very, very good at what you do and be willing to pay the going rate once those players make the grade. And even then you have to top the squad up with external quality, not just a couple of youngsters on loan every year. Instead, as we've seen this summer, what actually happens is we put the time and effort into developing them and then they head off to places like Middlesbrough instead. We seem to expect academy developed players to stay here forever out of blind loyalty and get away with paying them bottom end wages. So it is a never ending saga. This summer for example we look likely to replace Darragh Lenihan, club captain and proven Championship quality, either with a loan from Liverpool, nobody, or Ash Phillips who is 17 and has never played 1st team football before. In no universe is that progress, development, a plan or sensible.

If Liverpool won't release him the deal isn't done.

The obsession there seems to be with putting value into individual players by way of giving them game time will derail us, no doubt about that. I'm increasingly concerned that there is more interest in putting value into Phillips, Vale, Dolan and co. than there is strengthening the squad and bringing in players who might knock them down the pecking order.

So their loyalty comes before their wish to get promoted then. So they don't really want to get promoted because if they did they would stop at nothing to do it. Including removing a manager who was delivering relegation form and stinking the club out from February onwards.

Course it was. Yet we never spend it. Strange that.